You Can't Go Back Again
by Inwe Calaelen
Summary: Sarah has a hard time adjusting to her life after returning from the Labyrinth. She'll find her help in the most unlikely place immaginable.
1. Help Is On The Way

**Summary:** After returning from the Goblin Kingdom, Sarah can't get back to her old life. Sarah finds help in the most unlikely person.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even Mr. Johnson. He's from a song.**

**Help Is On The Way**

Sarah Williams sat in her third period, barely managing to stay focused on the teacher at the front of her classroom. Every class since her return from the Labyrinth had been like this, even her drama class. In fact, every aspect of her life had been dulled by her journey through the Labyrinth. It was almost too much for Sarah to bear.

Many nights, she just lay in bed, watching her window for any sign of a white owl. The girl couldn't sleep. She couldn't focus on anything. If she didn't start eating soon, her parents were going to send her to therapy. Once again, she just couldn't.

Too many times, Sarah would catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and wouldn't be able to stop herself from thinking, "This isn't me. This is where I belong."

Too many times, she would fake being sick to avoid her friends. Too many times, she would go to school to avoid her family. Too many times…

"Too many times," Sarah thought to herself, "you let your mind wander when you've got work to do. You start thinking about what you could have had, but at what price? Maybe Toby growing up in the Goblin Kingdom wouldn't be such a bad thing. Maybe he would have been happier there. Maybe…"

"Sarah?" The girl looked up to see her entire class staring at her, and her teacher looking concerned. "What's the Goblin Kingdom?"

"Something from a play I'm writing," Sarah lied. "Sorry, Mr. Johnson."

"Stay after class please," Mr. Johnson responded. "I'd like to have a word with you." Having said this, the teacher turned around to continue his lecture on photosynthesis, while Sarah tried hard to keep focused, yet again.

"Sarah," the Biology teacher said once he and the girl were alone, "I'm worried about you. You've become…different, somehow. You used to be one of my best students, and now you're failing my class. Is something wrong? Family problems?"

"Not really family problems," Sarah responded in the confused way she'd become used to. "You won't believe me if I told you."

"You'll never know unless you try." Mr. Johnson said, sitting down in the desk next to Sarah.

"That's just it," Sarah said, again confused. "I did try. I tried and I beat him, and got Toby back, so why can't I think about anything about him?"

"Oh," Mr. Johnson replied, his voice a little more subdued. "I think I know what this is about."

"No," Sarah said. "How could you? You're a man of science, and what I'm talking about is…fantasy."

"Is it?" The older man said. "Is love really just a fantasy? I knew that, in time, you would see that Jareth is the one for you. There's no denying it. I once heard love described as 'that can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence kind of feeling,' and, my dear, I'm afraid that describes you."

"I suppose your right. But what can I…" Sarah blinked and shook her head. "What did you say?"

"I said that you're in love," the Biology teacher responded.

"Not that," Sarah said, eyes growing wider. "You said Jareth."


	2. Becoming The Helper

**Summary:** After returning from the Goblin Kingdom, Sarah can't get back to her old life. Sarah finds help in the most unlikely person.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even Mr. Johnson. He's from a song.**

**Becoming The Helper**

Mr. Johnson smiled as Sarah walked in to class, late again. "Glad you could join us, Sarah," he said, and meant it.

"I am so sorry," Sarah began. "I had to…"

"Don't worry about excuses." Mr. Johnson interrupted. "Just sit down. I have an announcement to make."

Sarah sat down at her desk as her teacher began talking, still upset that he hadn't told how he knew about Jareth. "We have a guest speaker today," Mr. Johnson smiled as a sigh of relief circled around the room. "I know, you all wanted to take your test, but I've decided to wait until next week."

The girl next to Sarah, she still couldn't remember her name, raised her hand, "Mr. Johnson, who's the guest spea-" The girl stopped and stared hard at the window.

Sarah whirled around to face the window, to find nothing but the usual dreary scene. She turned back to the girl, "What is it?"

The girl looked confused, "I thought I saw an owl." Sarah eyes darted to her teacher, and stayed there, threatening him with darts.

"You probably just imagined the whole thing." Mr. Johnson opened his mouth to try to gain control of his class, which seemed to have migrated to the window. However, before he could say anything, the door opened. A man with blond hair, neatly tied at his neck, walked in, pulling a cart with several cages in them. The cages held various birds, however, as Sarah was relieved to discover, none of them were owls.

Mr. Johnson smiled, "Class, please welcome Mr. King." The man turned around to face the class, his eyes, one blue and one green, falling to rest on a fuming Sarah. "And Sarah, please stay after class…"

"Like hell I will," Sarah said before the man could finish his sentence. All eyes in the classroom turned to face her. This was not the Sarah her classmates knew.

"…To discuss your detention." The biology teacher finished.

"That's not fair!" Sarah said, voice rising, as she stood up.

Mr. Johnson smiled, and looked over at the 'guest speaker', "You say that so often." Mr. King turned to face the teacher with a smirk on his face, and nodded. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is. "Sarah's eyes flashed. She sat down calmly, and raised her chin defiantly. "No more interruptions. Mr. King, if you would."

"Thank you, Mr. Johnson," the man responded, and turned to begin his lesson.

"Sarah," the biology teacher said, shutting the door.

"Don't talk to me!" The girl said this with such fire that the man took a step back. "You work for him don't you? You've always worked for him. I'll bet he sent you…"

"As a matter of fact," Jareth said, with warning in his voice and eyes that made Sarah falter. "Mr. Johnson decided to come Aboveground on his own. I am not the only one who finds certain things from Aboveground very…attractive."

"Besides," said the teacher, coming to stand beside the Goblin King, "I hated seeing my brother such a wreck. I had to find the girl he loved. For family reasons."

"Oh, sure," Sarah said sarcastically. "It was to help _his majesty_ and it had nothing to do with Toby." Both men smiled.

"No," Jareth said. "It never had anything to do with Toby. Of course, it can, if you want."

"Wait a minute," Sarah said, looking at her teacher. "Did you say brother? And what do you mean, family reasons?"

"With you occupying all of Jareth's time," Mr. Johnson responded, "our sister was able to convince the courts that our brother is unable to rule, and since he has no heir, the Goblin Kingdom should go to the next in line. Which, of course, is our sister."

"She, too, has been watching you." Jareth put in. "But for different reasons. She will take Toby has her heir, unless I can produce an heir."

Sarah looked up at the men, her face showing concern for her younger brother, and disgust for what she was about to do. "How can I help?"


	3. The New Nanny

**Summary:** After returning from the Goblin Kingdom, Sarah can't get back to her old life. Sarah finds help in the most unlikely person.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even Mr. Johnson. He's from a song. Except for Desdemona.**

First of all, I want to thank all those who reviewed. Passes out cookies I apologize for any mistakes. I'm writing this story in my fourth period, and upload it right away. (Thanks to Misa for catching my mistake!) I'm naming Sarah's father after my own, Richard. Only my sister gets to find out why.

_Abc _thoughts

The New Nanny 

_Sarah looked up at the men, her face showing concern for her younger brother, and disgust for what she was about to do. "How can I help?"_

Had she thought more about the situation, she probably could have figured out a different way to rescue her brother. Again. It seems she was always saving Toby.

Sarah took a deep breath and opened the door before her. Karen was sitting on the couch, watching TV, with a sleeping Toby in her lap. "You're late," Sarah's stepmother said.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said quietly. "I had to stay after class again."

"Anything I should know?" Richard asked, walking in from the kitchen.

"No," Sarah said, a little too quickly. When she saw the weird looks her parents gave her, she added, "I just didn't understand something." _Well, at least it's not really lying I didn't understand how Jareth and Mr. Johnson knew each other…_

"Whatever," Karen said. Sarah started walking up the stairs. "Come right back down. We can't rely on you to be responsible, so we hiring a nanny. I want you to meet her."

Sarah put her backpack in her room and started back down the stairs. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a lady. The lady looked like a cross between Jareth and Mr. Johnson. She had her blonde hair in a ponytail, and she wore blue jeans and a red pheasant top. When the lady looked at Sarah, the girl saw the woman had green eyes, like Mr. Johnson, but the shape resembled Jareth's a little more.

"You must be Sarah," the woman said in an insanely sweet voice. "My name is Mona."

"You must be the new nanny," Sarah said, raising he chin defiantly.

"Forgive our daughter," Richard said quickly. "She just learned that we planned on hiring you." "Sarah turned to glare at her father, only to catch her stepmother's look that said 'do as I say or I'll kill your firstborn child.'

"Oh, don't worry about that, Mr. Williams," said. "I'm sure I can change her mind with the peach cobbler I'm making for dessert tonight."

"You guys are going out?" Sarah questioned her father.

"Sarah," Karen said. "You've known about this for a while. Tonight's your father's Company Party."

"Don't worry Sarah," Mona said, coming forward and placing on hand on Sarah's shoulder. "I can already tell we'll be great friends."

Sarah backed away, shaking her head. "I don't want to be friends with you!" Sarah screamed and ran up to her room, slamming the door.

Mona turned to Richard and Karen, "You'd better get going, or you'll be late. Don't worry about your daughter. I'll take care of her." She rushed the two out the door, taking Toby from Karen's arms.

Sarah waited with her head pressed against her door, listening for the sound of the car pulling away. "I can't believe they went and hired a nanny."

"It looks like you'll have to believe it," a familiar voice said behind her. Sarah turned to find Jareth lounging on her bed, while his brother sat in the chair at her desk.

"Easy for you to say," Sarah retorted, not sure who had spoken. "You two don't have to live with her."

Jareth and Mr. Johnson exchanged glances. "Maybe not…" the teacher started.

"…but we did when we were little," Jareth finished.

"That's your sister?" Sarah said, fighting to keep her voice quiet.

"Yes," Mr. Johnson said. "That's Desdemona."

Before the brothers could answer, a sweet voice called up from the dinning room, "Sarah! Come get ready for dinner!"

Sarah opened the door and got ready to yell something back, but Mona beat her to it, "and tell my darling brothers that they're invited to join us."


	4. The King, The Teacher and The King's New

**Summary:** After returning from the Goblin Kingdom, Sarah can't get back to her old life. Sarah finds help in the most unlikely person.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even Mr. Johnson. He's from a song. Except for Desdemona.**

_Abc _thoughts

**The King, The Teacher and The King's New Toy**

"Be down in a minute," Sarah yelled. Slamming the door, she turned around to face Jareth and Mr. Johnson.

"It's now, or never," Mr. Johnson said, exchanging amused glances with his brother.

"Or after dinner," Jareth finished.

"What are you two, twins?" Sarah asked exasperated.

"Exactly," the brothers said at the same time.

"Then why is _she_ next-in-line for the throne?" Sarah asked, motioning towards the door wit her head.

"Because I live Aboveground," Mr. Johnson said, as if it were obvious. "Are you going to help us or not?"

"No," Sarah said defiantly.

"Oh, good," Jareth said, standing and walking towards the door. "I just love peach cobbler. Though it's probably been drugged," he turned to Sarah, "and she'll probably make us eat it anyways."

Sarah's expression faltered.

"Well, when you're thrown from the Underground," Mr. Johnson said, standing and following his brother, "I'll let you live with me."

The twins turned to face Sarah. "Coming?" they asked together.

"Fine," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. "I'll help you."

Jareth smirked and turned to his brother. "Care to join us for the night?"

"It would be good to see the Underground again," Mr. Johnson answered.

Sarah closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. Jareth was bad enough, but with her Biology teacher added to the mix, she wasn't sure how much she could handle. When she opened her eyes, the three were standing in small dining room used primarily for casual dining.

"No peaches," Jareth said to Sarah as the three sat down to eat and talk about their predicament.


	5. Getting To Know The Twins

**Summary: After returning from the Goblin Kingdom, Sarah can't get back to her old life. Sarah finds help in the most unlikely person.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even Mr. Johnson. He's from a song. **

**Getting To Know The Twins**

Sarah sat at the smile table, king on one side, teacher on the other. The twins chatted away happily. It had obviously been a while since they last saw each other. Sarah looked at her Biology Teacher, wondering exactly how she gotten into this mess. Letting her mind wonder, Sarah remembered the day she had learned exactly how close to the Underground she was.

"_Sarah," the Biology teacher said once he and the girl were alone, "I'm worried about you. You've become…different, somehow. You used to be one of my best students, and now you're failing my class. Is something wrong? Family problems?"_

"_Not really family problems," Sarah responded in the confused way she'd become used to. "You won't believe me if I told you."_

"_You'll never know unless you try." Mr. Johnson said, sitting down in the desk next to Sarah._

"_That's just it," Sarah said, again confused. "I did try. I tried and I beat him, and got Toby back, so why can't I think about anything about him?"_

"_Oh," Mr. Johnson replied, his voice a little more subdued. "I think I know what this is about."_

"_No," Sarah said. "How could you? You're a man of science, and what I'm talking about is…fantasy."_

"_Is it?" The older man said. "Is love really just a fantasy? I knew that, in time, you would see that Jareth is the one for you. There's no denying it. I once heard love described as 'that can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence kind of feeling,' and, my dear, I'm afraid that describes you."_

"_I suppose your right. But what can I…" Sarah blinked and shook her head. "What did you say?"_

"_I said that you're in love," the Biology teacher responded._

"_Not that," Sarah said, eyes growing wider. "You said Jareth."_

_Mr. Johnson sighed and responded, "Yes. A word that has become an unnecessary evil for you, isn't it?"_

"_How do you know Jareth?" Sarah asked, ignoring the weary expression Mr. Johnson wore._

"_You'll know that soon enough," the Biology Teacher said, standing and walking over to the window. He closed the blinds and turned around to face Sarah. "Funny thing about love," he said, sitting down on the edge of his desk, "it will always bring two together."_

_Sarah looked down her hands which were folded on her desk. "I'm not sure I want it to," she said, blinking back tears._

"_Jareth's not a bad guy," Mr. Johnson said coming over to Sarah's desk and crouching down next to her. "You'll see, just give him a chance." _

"...and then he said to me, 'Mr. Johnson, you're quite an attractive man. Are you sure you're not interested?" Sarah blinked and stared at her Biology Teacher. What the hell was he talking about?

Jareth laughed softly, shaking his head. "John, my brother, you find the oddest people." Sarah turned, open-mouthed, to face Jareth. He caught her look and winked at her. "So what did you say?"

Mr. Johnson laughed, "Naturally, I told him I wasn't interested."

Sarah put a hand over her eyes and said, "I missed something."

Both the twins laughed. "It's alright, Sarah," Mr. Johnson said. "The man was looking for someone to model his newest line of clothes. They looked they had come off a clown."

"Oh," Sarah said, blushing and lowering her hand. "Sorry."

"Perhaps we should move to my study," Jareth said standing and offering Sarah his arm, "so we can discuss this messy heir business."


End file.
